The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Science. The lowest is 30% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on St. Paul High School
St. Paul High School is the public school serving grades seven through twelve in the small, rural community of St. Paul, Arkansas. Though it remains part of the Huntsville School District following consolidation years ago, the school still sits in St. Paul itself, a town that once thrived on lumber but now functions as a quiet residential area near the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest. The town covers a compact area, with state highways as its main streets, and the local economy is limited to a few small businesses. The school is deeply integrated into this setting, sharing the community’s fabric rather than sitting apart.
The school is very small, enrolling roughly a hundred students across six grades, which works out to small class sizes and a high degree of familiarity between students and staff. The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of students who identify as two or more races and a smaller Hispanic population. About three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the area’s economic realities. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available from the data provided.
State assessment results are available for grades seven and eight, the only tested grades under the current ATLAS assessments. In seventh grade, proficiency rates in math and English language arts were below the state midpoint, while science performed a bit higher. In eighth grade, ELA and science proficiency rates were stronger, though math results for that grade were suppressed, likely because too few students were tested to report reliably. Overall, the pattern is mixed: science shows the highest rates, math and ELA have room for improvement. Because the school is so small, a single year’s results can fluctuate noticeably, and the data represents only a fraction of the students enrolled. Parents should consider these results as a snapshot rather than a definitive trend, and they may want to ask school staff about how the school supports students who are working below grade level.
The data does not include a graduation rate, which is a significant gap for a school that includes grades eleven and twelve. Statewide graduation rate reporting is common for high schools, so the absence of this metric here may reflect a data limitation rather than the school’s actual performance. A parent or resident should check directly with the Huntsville School District for this information.
No program offerings, course access data, or staffing details were provided. Given the school’s size, it is reasonable to expect a limited set of advanced, career, and elective options, but no specific list is available from the data. The comparison tool places St. Paul High School relative to districts in Madison County, but since Huntsville School District is the only school district in the county, there is no meaningful comparative context to draw on.
On the district level, the Huntsville School District has not publicly reported any major recent changes such as bond measures, curriculum overhauls, or boundary shifts, according to the research available. That suggests a period of stability, though it also means no recent investment or policy change is documented for families to examine.
In sum, St. Paul High School offers a very small, rural setting where students and families are likely to know each other well. The community is quiet and car-dependent, with limited commercial activity. Academic performance on state tests is mixed, with science the relative strength. The absence of key data points, particularly the graduation rate and program offerings, means families should follow up directly with the district or school to get a fuller picture of what this high school provides for college and career preparation.
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